Febrile Seizure

Last Sunday was the WORST day Mark and I have ever had to experience...

When Avery was born it was not an easy delivery. In fact had it been 20 years ago we would have both died. She was ripped out in about 20 minutes because her heart rate dropped down to 7-nurses were on top of me and everyone was yelling. Due to everything that happened she suffered a shoulder injury and had to spend 3 days in the ICU. She was not able to breath oxygen on her own (she was also 3 weeks early). We were new parents and had no idea what had happened. I remember waking up at 3:00 in the morning and hadn't seen my baby! We had to sign our names to see our own little girl. This was by far a horrible time in our life, but last Sunday topped it! I think when we were in the hospital (I had drugs) and we didn't know any different. Today is Wednesday and it is still hard for me to talk about it without tears, but I think writing it out might help.

I had just finished my post about our mini vacation when Avery woke up early from her nap. We brought her down to our bed and let her watch T.V. while she enjoyed some Pedilyte. We noticed she had a temp before the nap, but assumed it was from the heat. At this point her temp was about 102.8-Avery runs low (like 96) so this was really high. I texted our wonderful nurse Kari and she said I should give her Ibuprofen. I only had Tylenol-not sure why I didn't just give her that! I called my mom because I thought maybe it was still from the heat.

Then she was acting fine. She was rolling around in the living room playing and laughing. I decided to run to the store, but when I left Avery was begging to go with me. I figured it wouldn't hurt to run to the store. As I was putting her into the car she was talking and excited to go for a ride. I ran inside real quick (leaving the car on with air) to tell Mark that he and Mack should just come with us and maybe we could run by his parents house and pick up dinner. As I came out Avery was staring at me. I then realized she wasn't changing her expression. I went into panic mode and grabbed her up to run to Mark. He knew immediately that it wasn't like any scream he had ever heard. He pick her up and she was completely non-responsive-I truly thought my baby was dead! As a parent you immediately think the worst. I dialed 911 and handed the phone to Mark-I was not able to talk-I was hyperventilating and hysterical! She was just laying in the middle of our living room not moving, but had a pulse. She then came out of it and was staring at Mack-who was trying to rub her little hand.

I went outside to look for the ambulance because we live in the country. As I was pacing the driveway with Mack in my arms I started calling family. I couldn't get a hold of anybody in Mark's family and I had his phone so it was hard to get all of them. I called my dad and all I could say was Avery is not responding and ambulance is on the way! He (with fear in his voice) said we will be there! Mark finally got a hold of his dad and they were here by the time we left the driveway! Hiram actually parked in the middle of our yard!

The firetrucks, Ambulances, and volunteer workers all showed up! By this time she had come out of what we now know was a Febrile Seizure. She vomited all over the place and we asked them to take her to the hospital. At the hospital they ran test to see if she had strep or an urinary track infection. Everything came back negative and we were headed back home. My parents and Hiram were all at the hospital and Jane was taking care of Mack. Mark's family all came up right as we were leaving-I realized then how scared I was-when I had to talk about it to other people.

We are on our first day with no fever, but I wanted to include some facts about Febrile Seizures. They do run in families, so Mack is at a higher risk. Here is some information:

* Febrile seizures are convulsions brought on by a fever in infants or small children.

* During a febrile seizure, a child often loses consciousness and shakes, moving limbs on both sides of the body. Less commonly, the child becomes rigid or has twitches in only a portion of the body, such as an arm or a leg, or on the right or the left side only.

*Most febrile seizures last a minute or two, although some can be as brief as a few seconds while others last for more than 15 minutes.

* The majority of children with febrile seizures have rectal temperatures greater than 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

* Most febrile seizures occur during the first day of a child's fever.

* Approximately one in every 25 children will have at least one febrile seizure, and more than one-third of these children will have additional febrile seizures before they outgrow the tendency to have them.

* Febrile seizures usually occur in children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years and are particularly common in toddlers.

* Children rarely develop their first febrile seizure before the age of 6 months or after 3 years of age. The older a child is when the first febrile seizure occurs, the less likely that child is to have more.

* A few factors appear to boost a child's risk of having recurrent febrile seizures, including young age (less than 15 months) during the first seizure, frequent fevers, and having immediate family members with a history of febrile seizures.

I got this information from:

(http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/febrile_seizures/detail_febrile_seizures.htm#178003111)

I will always remember the day she was born and I will NEVER forget the way she looked when I got her out of the car or the feeling of fear that my baby girl wasn't going to make it. It even crossed my mind that she was going to have brain damage after it happened. Now I am hearing from a lot of people that this is very common and leaves me feeling better about her future.

Mark and I repeat this frequently: God will only give you what you can handle-we have been tested!

Through this all, family and friends have been wonderful! We want to thank Heidi (and Scott and Cohan) for all the food and our parents for giving our kids everything. We have a well stocked fridge! Avery has been very spoiled this week and she deserves it. She can eat whatever she wants and has received multiple gifts from both grandmothers. Mack benefits from it as well!

She Loves ELMO-I think they put a drug in him to make kids love him:)

Thank God everything has been okay!